The present invention relates to a new American cranberry variety of distinctive lineage having significantly higher yields and stolon vigor, higher anthocyanin content (red pigment), and earlier flowering phenology, as compared to currently cultivated commercial varieties known to the inventor. The new variety, ‘CNJ97-105-4’, was derived from a cross between ‘LeMunyon’ (unpatented) and ‘#35’ (unpatented), two varieties which are genetically distinct from the majority of cranberries in production today. As such, ‘CNJ97-105-4’ offers growers an opportunity to increase the genetic diversity of their cranberry beds while increasing yields. ‘CNJ97-105-4’ was originally selected from over 1,700 seedlings growing in cultivated test plots in Chatsworth, N.J.
The American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) is a temperate, woody perennial plant species native to North America. The United States is the largest cranberry producer, with Wisconsin and Massachusetts representing the majority of acreage and production, followed by New Jersey, Oregon and Washington. The cranberry industry relies on relatively few cranberry varieties, representing a narrow genetic base. These varieties are clonally-propagated and include selections from native populations and first generation hybrids. Varieties selected from native cranberry populations, from as far back as 1850, are still being cultivated. The cultivars ‘Ben Lear’ (unpatented) and ‘Early Black’ (unpatented) are grown in significant acreage. First generation hybrid varieties were developed from one cycle of breeding and selection that was conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with state Agricultural Experiment Stations in the 1940's. The USDA breeding program released a series of unpatented varieties in the 1950's including the most widely grown cultivar ‘Stevens’ (unpatented), which was originally selected from test plots in Pemberton, N.J. The variety ‘#35’ (unpatented) (a parent of CNJ97-105-4) also originated from this USDA breeding program and was acquired by some commercial entities. Recognized for its yield potential, ‘#35’ (unpatented) was not widely accepted due to relatively poor fruit color development.
Varieties having high anthocyanin production along with consistently high productivity have become essential for commercial success in cranberry production. In addition, varieties having higher resistance to fruit rot are more suitable for fruit rot prone growing areas. Fruit crop productivity is a function of inherent differences among varieties for traits such as stolon vigor, upright density, inflorescence bud production, fruit set and fruit size. Varieties with high stolon vigor will establish more rapidly and reduce the number of years required to achieve maximal production. However, after bed establishment, varieties must transition to optimal sexual reproduction mode, and optimal upright density, to achieve high crop production. Cranberry inflorescence bud primordia are set on uprights during the completion of the fruit development period and overwinter in a dormant state, before resuming growth the subsequent spring. Thus, the crop load of a given year, may impact the subsequent year's crop, contributing to the pronounced biennial bearing habit common to many varieties. Productivity is also subject to environmental effects, e.g., heat and light intensity stresses, cold (frost) stress, water stress (drought and excess), disease, insects and certain pesticides.
TAcy (total anthocyanin content) is currently a fruit quality component of processed cranberries, having a minimum acceptable value, as well as premiums for fruit with higher TAcy values. Cranberries from a given bed are measured for TAcy content. TAcy is measured in terms of mg of anthocyanin per 100 g fruit using a standard spectrophotometric (520 nm) method. Earlier ripening varieties, which typically have higher TAcy, allow for earlier harvesting of a crop. Anthocyanin synthesis occurs predominately in the fruit epidermis, resulting in a generally negative correlation between fruit size and TAcy. The Rutgers University cranberry breeding program quantitatively measured TAcy along with mean fruit size, and selected only those progeny that were above the regression line representing the mean relationship between fruit size and TAcy.
New Jersey uniquely offers an ideal environment for cranberry breeding because of the climate, soils and water. Of all the cranberry production areas in North America, New Jersey conditions subject the cranberry to the highest disease pressure and heat stress. The plant must tolerate high heat stress and vegetative diseases during the growing season. Over 15 pathogens are known to incite cranberry fruit rot in New Jersey, and the fruit is also subject to heat scald and physiological breakdown. Thus, selection under New Jersey conditions offers the best opportunity to identify varieties with higher resistance to disease, scald, and heat stress.
The Rutgers University cranberry breeding program, in Chatsworth, N.J., was initiated in 1985 to take advantage of this unique selection pressure. The program's methods were designed to duplicate, as much as possible, the environment of a commercial bed. Thus, breeding plots of 1.5 m×1.5 m were established with multiple plants and allowed to fill in to form a dense canopy. Two to four years after planting, yield of a given plot was evaluated over a four year minimum to provide for biennial bearing assessment. Selection of parental material is critical; parental clones were selected based on their field phenotypic performance and crossed in various combinations in order to enhance traits and/or combine the most desirable traits from both parents into one genotype, i.e., variety. Traits being evaluated in Rutgers University's cranberry breeding program include yield, fruit rot susceptibility/resistance, scald, stolon and upright vigor, total anthocyanin content (TAcy), soluble solids (Brix), and tiltratable acidity.
The new variety, ‘CNJ97-105-4’, resulted from crossing the variety ‘LeMunyon’ (unpatented) as the seed parent, with the variety ‘#35’ (unpatented) as the pollen parent. The plant was originally selected from a group of plants sexually derived from the same parents as the new variety and that were grown in a field trial of over 1,700 seedlings derived from 57 cross combinations. The 1.5 m×1.5 m plots were planted in 1999 in Chatsworth, N.J. Results from this trial showed that ‘CNJ97-105-4’ performed significantly better than standard varieties. In 2003, ‘CNJ97-105-4’, along with 76 other selections, was planted in a replicated trial with 3 m×3 m plots in Chatsworth, N.J. for additional evaluation. ‘CNJ97-105-4’ was also planted in larger evaluation beds in 2004, in Browns Mills, N.J. (0.5 acres) and City Point, Wis. (1.0 acres) for evaluation in a larger scale environment.
‘CNJ97-105-4’ is a new cranberry variety selected under New Jersey's stressful conditions, which offers a unique germplasm background and the potential for rapid bed establishment and exceptionally high yields.